Cedric and Erik's 2023 Golf Trip

[iacas]

Later this year @cedrictheo and I are taking our second annual golf trip.

Last year we hit up NCR South, toured the renovated Camargo Club, played Idle Hour in Kentucky, played Holston Hills in Tennessee, played Sewanee and Sweetens, and then a Fazio course by a Fazio you've probably never heard of… We ended last year at my daughter's college tournament.

This year, we're going to meet up in the middle and make our way to the Pinehurst area, while also playing courses in Durham and Greensboro.

You can understand why I'm not sharing dates or specifics just yet (and some of that reason is that it's not entirely fully set yet, so I don't want to jinx anything).

Anyway, we're really looking forward to it! We might not post a ton here until we've gotten some golf in… but… yay!

[StuM]

19 minutes ago, iacas said:

Later this year @cedrictheo and I are taking our second annual golf trip.

Last year we hit up NCR South, toured the renovated Camargo Club, played Idle Hour in Kentucky, played Holston Hills in Tennessee, played Sewanee and Sweetens, and then a Fazio course by a Fazio you've probably never heard of… We ended last year at my daughter's college tournament.

This year, we're going to meet up in the middle and make our way to the Pinehurst area, while also playing courses in Durham and Greensboro.

You can understand why I'm not sharing dates or specifics just yet (and some of that reason is that it's not entirely fully set yet, so I don't want to jinx anything).

Anyway, we're really looking forward to it! We might not post a ton here until we've gotten some golf in… but… yay!

Sounds like the start of a tradition. Enjoy

[iacas]

I'm still waiting for @cedrictheo to add his thoughts. The courses were all new to him. 😄 

[klineka]

@iacas Was Sweetens worth the hype?

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, klineka said:

@iacas Was Sweetens worth the hype?

Cedric liked it. I…am glad I got to see the place once.

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This year we played:

• Camargo Club
• Southern Pines
• Croasdale (Durham)
• Mid Pines
• Pine Needles
• Bryan Park

[cedrictheo]

A couple of my favorites…

Camargo was my first time playing a Seth Raynor course. Wish I had done a little more research into his different template holes beforehand. If I could join any club in the country this would be high on the list. Seems the course would never get old as there are a wide variety of holes. Unfortunately I got oddly worked up at the beginning of the round and played so poorly I didn’t enjoy the first 6 holes. Hope to play this one again sometime when my game is dialed. Tom the head pro might well be the nicest and most knowledgeable man I’ve ever come across. 

Southern Pines was incredible. The hole layouts are interesting. The sandy areas are pretty to look at and penal to be in. The place has a mystique to it (a bit like sweetens cove) where the whole course somehow glows with a golden hue. The new putting course is absurd. Fun to mess around with but nothing like any courses actual greens.

If anyone is curious about some of the other courses let me know and I’ll give my 2 cents. Was a rather successful first trip to Pinehurst for a golf nerd like myself.

[GolfLug]

3 hours ago, cedrictheo said:

Southern Pines was incredible. The hole layouts are interesting. The sandy areas are pretty to look at and penal to be in. The place has a mystique to it (a bit like sweetens cove) where the whole course somehow glows with a golden hue.

The renovated SP is my personal top 5 of all courses I have played. Opens with a fun freewheeling downhill tee shot but that's the only handout you will get for the round. Finishes so well too.  

IMHO, the back nine is no slouch but the front nine is easily at par with the best collection of nine holes anywhere. I thought it  demands 110% mental presence for the entire 18 holes to put up a solid round here but nothing gimmicky (ahem.. unlike Tobacco Road) or unfair.   

Felt like I earned my beer after the round here. 

[cedrictheo]

18 hours ago, GolfLug said:

The renovated SP is my personal top 5 of all courses I have played. Opens with a fun freewheeling downhill tee shot but that's the only handout you will get for the round. Finishes so well too.  

IMHO, the back nine is no slouch but the front nine is easily at par with the best collection of nine holes anywhere. I thought it  demands 110% mental presence for the entire 18 holes to put up a solid round here but nothing gimmicky (ahem.. unlike Tobacco Road) or unfair.   

Felt like I earned my beer after the round here. 

Yeah, the front is so demanding. I think it was after hole 10 where I turned to Erik and said… I don’t know if I could ever play even par around this track. He scoffed and said I could. Proceeded to play the back 2 under… but it didn’t feel easy.

[GolfLug]

27 minutes ago, cedrictheo said:

Yeah, the front is so demanding. I think it was after hole 10 where I turned to Erik and said… I don’t know if I could ever play even par around this track. He scoffed and said I could. Proceeded to play the back 2 under… but it didn’t feel easy.

Some courses look tight but play bigger. I thought this one is the opposite, with fairway runoffs and smaller effective greens. It's still a thinker's layout, not necessarily target golf, so I would wager good money that you will score better the second time around.

Glad y'all played it (I know Erik has played it a couple of times previously). I will be down there in spring. 

 

[iacas]

Some photos from the album, somewhat in order:

We watched Breckin play at NCR South, a course we played on last year's trip:

A few from Camargo Club, which we played the next day, including perhaps the best divot I've ever taken with my 60° club (my approach on the third, to about 10 feet to a back left pin):

Michelle Wie seconds after the final putt dropped at her USWO win at Pinehurst #2. I love how browned out everything is.

Southern Pines and the, honestly, too overdone putting course. It's not fun like Thistle Dhu, it's honestly just too much. The 11th hole is below that, where I pull-drew it into a fairway bunker but hit a really great shot from there.

Croasdaile (my 3W on 9) with AG. We were rained out after one hole at Hillandale.

We stopped at Tobacco Road on the way back to Pinehurst from Durham and I took a panorama of 9 and a shot from near 9 of 17.

Mid-Pines, where we finished in the dark. The lenses make it appear lighter than it is… and this is on 16, shortly before @cedrictheo almost beaned people on 17. 😉 (Still no clue what they were really doing back there.)

Pine Needles was a joy as always.

Bryan Park in Greensboro was our last course, and a Chasing Scratch podcast favorite.

[Golfer20]

Sounds like you guys had a great time.  Next time you'll have to get to Tot Hill Farm in Asheboro (kinda, sorta between Greensboro and Pinehurst).  It's another Mike Strantz (Tobacco Road) course that was recently renovated.  

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club | Mike Strantz Design 50 Minutes from Pinehurst, NC

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Tot Hill Farm is a must play, bucket list golf experience located 50 minutes from Pinehurst, Charlotte, Raleigh and the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.

 

[cedrictheo]

On 12/6/2023 at 7:27 PM, Golfer20 said:

Sounds like you guys had a great time.  Next time you'll have to get to Tot Hill Farm in Asheboro (kinda, sorta between Greensboro and Pinehurst).  It's another Mike Strantz (Tobacco Road) course that was recently renovated.  

Tot Hill Farm Golf Club | Mike Strantz Design 50 Minutes from Pinehurst, NC

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Tot Hill Farm is a must play, bucket list golf experience located 50 minutes from Pinehurst, Charlotte, Raleigh and the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.

 

Very cool, had never heard of it, thanks for the recommendation.